Electrophotographic printing process involves creating an image on a photoconductive surface, applying a specific ink having charged particles to the photoconductive surface and then transferring the charged particles in the form of the image to a print substrate. The photoconductive surface, which can be a cylinder and that is often termed a photo imaging plate (PIP), is selectively charged with a latent electrostatic image having image and background areas with different potentials.
The electrophotographic ink composition that is used herein comprises charged toner particles in a liquid carrier and can be brought into contact with the selectively charged photoconductive surface. The charged toner particles adhere to the image areas of the latent image while the background areas remain clean. The image is then transferred to a print substrate (e.g. paper) directly or, more commonly, by being first transferred to an intermediate transfer member and then to the print substrate. Overprint varnishes are often used in order to enhance appearance and protect the printed image resulting from this electrophotographic process.